The course units below are available in distance learning format. Students must complete 8 course units to complete the MSc. Each course unit contains the same syllabus as its counterpart delivered by direct teaching, has the same learning outcomes and is delivered once per annum at a fixed time in order to facilitate the concept of a ‘virtual classroom’. The course units are available online for students to study for a period of 4 months.
We are flexible in the way you complete your course units. If there is a course unit that is only available as a one week taught unit, you can mix and match between the taught and distance learning units as long as you complete the correct number of course units required for the award you are registered for.
We are currently converting the remaining six other taught course units into a distance learning format and updating the current distance learning course units over the next four years.
Semester 1 (September – January)
| N01 Reactor Physics, Criticality & Design | Syllabus |
| N03 Radiation & Radiological Protection | Syllabus |
| N04 Decommissioning, Radioactive Waste and Environmental Management | Syllabus |
| N12 Reactor Thermal Hydraulics | Syllabus |
Semester 2 (February – June)
Due to unforeseen exceptional circumstances, the N07 – Nuclear Safety Case Development course unit will not be available in 2023-24
| N07 Nuclear Safety Case Development | Syllabus |
| N10 Processing, Storage and Disposal of Nuclear Waste | Syllabus |
| N13 Criticality Safety Management | Syllabus |
| N02 Nuclear Fuel Cycle | Syllabus |
| N31 Management of the Decommissioning Process | Syllabus |
The distance learning platform is Blackboard, a web-based Virtual Learning Environment, accessible anywhere, anytime and includes course handbooks, course content, timetables, course news, discussion groups, video clips and email. We will lecture capture the one week taught course units and these will be made available within the course unit content.
Key features:
- Content (textual/video/audio based)
- Multimedia (animation/video/audio)
- Communication Tools (discussion boards/blogs/email)
- Assessment (quizzes/self-tests)
- Course Management (student tracking/online gradebook)
The teaching material is not simply pages of text or reproductions of PowerPoint slides but is created specifically for this form of delivery. It includes video (presentations with voice over), individual self-tests, e-papers, downloadable material and other related resources.
Access to the internet is essential.
Unless a course unit contains a compulsory residential session for laboratory work, students may undertake an entire course unit remotely from the university campus. However an optional one day residential programme is sometimes offered during certain taught course units, allowing delegates to meet the course leader and their fellow attendees and have the opportunity for discussions on key aspects of the course unit. As with the direct taught version, a significant individual assignment is incorporated as well as other assessments. If an examination is required you can take this remotely from the university campus, usually at a British Council location if overseas and will be sat simultaneously by attendees from the direct taught and distance learning version of each course unit.
Distance learning programme structure
In order to permit part-time students to complete four course units in a year, course units are delivered in parallel. A student must complete 2 course units from the course units available in each semester. An illustration of the distance learning programme structure, course units and timetable is shown below.
| September | N01, N03, N04, N12 |
| October | |
| November | |
| December | |
| January | Examinations |
| February | N07, N10, N13, N31, N02 (N07 not available in 2023/24) |
| March | |
| April | |
| May | |
| June | Examinations |